4 Action Sports in Danger of Going Extinct

If you’re interested in taking up a new Action Sport to meet people who like the same thing, or you want to join a worldwide movement, you might want to avoid these sports. Not only are these four action sports on the fringe of the fringe, but their waning popularity could cause their extinction.

By Skip Snead

1. Downhill Skateboarding

It sucks that this is even on the list, but it is what it is. Street and Vert skating took skateboarding to such extreme heights that it literally left the downhill skater in the gutter. Sure there’s an underground tour, and some print publications, but it’s not something you’ll be seeing anytime soon on ABC Sports. One of the main reasons the sport is slowly fading away is that it’s just too dangerous. It wasn’t as crowded as it was in the 80s and even 90s, when it was showing some growth in popularity. But when was the last time you were driving a mountain road, or a hilly street and saw some guy fly by wearing a motorcycle helmet doing 60mph on a long skateboard? Probably never, because it’s too dangerous. Truth is, there are not enough areas for a true downhill skater to train. Not enough parents hooking their kids up with all the downhill street gear! Imagine that! “Here you go, son,” watch for cars! Regardless of what we think, they’re still out there, even right now as you read this, flying down hills, trying to break their own speed records … and unfortunately none of us will ever see them.

2. Barefoot Skiing

Why would you wear something on your feet if you don’t have to? Why wouldn’t you like to be closer to nature. While extremely tough to learn, barefoot skiing is almost a thing of the past in today’s big picture of Action Sports. When was the last time you saw someone barefoot skiing? Probably not in the past 30 years. While it was cool when Banana George was doing it in the 90s, it’s a lost art not to mention too dangerous. Imagine you’re barefooting it at 30 miles an hour and your foot runs over a piece of trash floating in the ocean, lake or river? One little piece of drift would slice your foot off, if not both. Yeah, barefoot skiing? Maybe not something you’re gonna be talking to anyone at Starbucks about in the near future….

3. Boarder Cross

Boardercross is actually pretty cool to watch, but a tough sport to get into, which might explain why Boardercross is one of the least popular wintertime action sports. Maybe it’s because Boardercross doesn’t have a star athlete. Boardercross doesn’t have its Shaun White. There’s no Tony Hawk of Boardercross. If there was, maybe things would be different, but for now, it’s just what it is. Something you see every year in the X-Games, but never really do yourself. Maybe it’s because kids don’t grow up dreaming about winning a snowboarding “race”, like the ones their friends in ski school brag about. No. They want to win a contest like the X-Games or the US Open of Snowboarding. See anyone can win a race, but winning a contest can truly elevate your status in the competitive world of Action Sports.

4. Watercross

I know, when we saw that word it freaked us out to. Can’t they come up with a better name? That sounds like a bad mix between a polo match and the ball sport LaCrosse. Usually anything that has to do with the water is awesome. But for some reason not a lot of action sports enthusiasts are booking trips with their friends to go play a little Watercross with their personal watercraft. I mean, where would you even do it? Where do these guys practice? Is there some offshore training ground none of us know about? Watercross… not something any of us will be training for soon. But it does sound fun! — Skip Snead

 

Originally posted 2013-07-24 23:34:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter